


Despair

by viciouswishes



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-01-01
Updated: 2004-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-20 01:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/207487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viciouswishes/pseuds/viciouswishes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Set: After "The Dark Age."</p>
    </blockquote>





	Despair

**Author's Note:**

> Set: After "The Dark Age."

Despair. He'd failed her. Them. Himself. He looked in the mirror. Stubble covered his face, and he desperately needed a shower. Jenny had told him to leave. Sent him home.

His mistakes. He brushed his teeth. Buffy should never have gotten involved. Of course, Willow had saved them. She was going to be great one day. Ethan probably saw that. Giles stepped into the running water before it was warm.

Ethan would come back; he always did. Willow's untapped power might attract the Chaos mage as a high school student takes on idiotic colloquialisms. The water ran down his back, washing the dirt down the drain. There was no telling what secrets Ethan told Buffy while initiating her.

Giles wrapped a clean towel around himself. Of course, Ethan hadn't told her about them. If they knew anything, it would be the pieces that they put together from Willow's research concerning orgies. But it had been more. Ethan would never let something that could harm him slip, even to make Buffy upset. He walked slowly from the bathroom into his bedroom. His pajama bottoms were lying on the dresser, where he had placed them several nights before.

Perhaps Ethan would come back. But not tonight. No, Ethan had witnessed his love for Jenny. He was gone. Giles climbed into his bed and pulled the sheet up. Jenny was also gone. He touched the tattoo on his arm. "Ethan," he whispered.


End file.
